Tamil cinema is seeing a lot of experimental films and new attempts these days, and debut directors play a vital role in it. The trailer of ‘VIDIYUM MUNN’ released in August 2013, and it created a good impression among a few cinema followers. People remembered the film’s name for actress Pooja’s comeback; however, the film was forgotten totally in few days, as there were no talks about the film in recent time. But, the film become popular overnight after the press preview show which was held 4 days back. There were extremely positive reviews / praises and Film producer ‘UTV’ Dhananjayan Govind called ‘VIDIYUM MUNN’ as the ‘Best thriller in recent times’. All these response and overwhelming positive WOM had created a good expectation among audience too. So, how good is the film really?
STORY:
The film revolves around Rekha (Pooja), a sex worker and a 12 years old kid Nandhini (Malavika) who tries to escape from four men who are looking for them for three different reasons. The story happens in a single day, and VIDIYUM MUNN examines their connection, the reasons and the fate of these disparate women during its course. Vidiyum Munn explores the darker side of life and the emotional imbalance it can create in the hearts of those who succumb to it.
As a viewer personally, I could not believe myself that I was watching a debut director’s film. Later, I came to know that the director Balaji K. Kumar is a student of Cinematography from UCLA (USA) and he is a writer, director, visual designer and an artist himself. Balaji has strong knowledge and working experience from Hollywood, and he has directed a number of commercial ads and also he has directed a film in Hollywood called “9 Lives of Mara,” which became a cult hit and went on to receive a host of awards including best film at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival in 2007. But still, this is his first film in Tamil. ‘VIDIYUM MUNN’ is outstanding in all possible aspects, and has a number of plus points to list out. The film has been made with Hollywood craft and Indian sensibility, which adds to its uniqueness. ‘VIDIYUM MUNN’ has perfect and detailed characterizations, simple and beautiful dialogues, matured performances all through and an enthralling performance from a 12 years kid and brilliant screenplay, which makes you call it FLAWLESSLY MADE!
The biggest plus point of the film is its technical excellence & the brilliant screenplay, and the performances are equally good. There are many scenes that are conveyed visually than in words or lengthy dialogues, such as the scene where Rekha sees an old woman sleeping in the streets and her mysterious dream which makes her feel worried. There are some extra-ordinary scenes like the scene where Singaram tells Rekha the story of a King and Dog, where the editing was also top notch! The film also enough thrill moments for a thriller, in the chase portions and Sri Rangam scenes. There are some simple, beautiful scenes like where Nandhini says, ‘Enga ammaa evlo azhagaa irupaanga theriyumaa’ and says ‘Nee eppovume en ammaa aaga mudiyaathu’ in second half, and the scene where Devanayagi says ‘Nandhini ya nee kaapathala, ava dhan unna kaapaathirukkaa’. Having only a very few enough scenes on the roots of child prostitution, Balaji has depicted them in a hard-hitting manner; the scene where Rekha and Nandhini sees for the first time is one such example. The simple, neat dialogues are too good and are another biggest plus point of the film; few to mention are “12 vayasu na athu ponnu illa, kuzhandhai…” “Life eh maaridum… Enakkaa? Unakkaa?” “Ovvoru manushan’ukkullayum oru saathaan irukkaan, athai SINGAARAM kaatinaan… Ovvoru manushan’ukkukkayum oru kadavul irukkaan, athai nee kaattina…” “Ava Trichy ku pola, Trichy pora train la poraa…” “Indha ulagathula ennennamo maardichu… Aanaa, indha thozhilum mama pasangalummattum maarave illa”. On the downside, the film does not have any major flaws. But, the casting for ‘Periya Ayyaa’ role looked a little odd. And, the climax twist was quite good, but few intelligent audience or people who follow the story too closely might be able to guess the twist much earlier itself.
On performance side, the film had a very good casting. Pooja has made an extra-ordinary comeback and has delivered a matured performance; even her own dubbing has suited the role very much. About the 12 years old Malavika Manikuttan, she just steals the show. Her performance was really enthralling! The director said in an interview that, ‘When Malavika performs before the camera, many directors would forget to say CUT’; and that seems absolutely true. Ways to go, Malavika!! Vinoth Kishan who has already proven his acting skills in films like #Nandhaa and #Naan_Mahaan_Alla, has given his best once again. All other actors including John Vijay as the greedy Lankan, Amarendran as the pimp, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan and Muthukumar has just nailed it.
The technical excellence has rendered great support to the script. The songs and BGM was fantastic and the cinematography by debutant Sivakumar Vijayan was best seen in recent times; it may be little shocking to know it is a debutant’s work. Editing was at its best, and the newcomer Sathyaraj has done a brilliant job. Contributions of all other departments like art, costumes and VFX / SFX are worth-mentioning.
POSITIVES:
* Brilliant screenplay & Technical excellence
* Dialogues
* Matured / enthralling performances
* Music & BG Score
* Cinematography & Editing
NEGATIVES:
No major flaws